A Stroke of Genius? Religion, the Founding Fathers and the Creation of the American Polity

Herman T. Salton

Abstract

The place of religion in the United States has been hotly contested ever since the establishment of the Americanpolity. This article revisits the origins of national identity in that country and argues that while religion played acrucial role in the formation of American consciousness, the wisdom of the US Founding Fathers lies in theirdecision to separate the public and private spheres—and to keep Church and State firmly divided. This was not,it should be noted, because they regarded the State to be more important than the Church, but rather because theythought that government was unworthy of interfering with religious faith and private conscience.

Refbacks

To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'ccsenet.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.